Before I dive into this week's League post, I have to give a shout out to the man behind the curtain for hooking me up with some cool stuff. He recently raided a neighborhood sale and posted his haul, some of which he put up for sale. Here's what I got.
The Creature figures will be in good company with their bretheren on my Creature shelf. And not only did he send the groovy Creature figures I asked for, but he also tossed in a Creature Madballs-style sticker, some Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages and a couple of Marx Disney figures. So, thank you Brian and on with the show...
In honor of one of TV's baddest bad-asses returning this week, the topic is:
You don't know Jack
(Bauer, Sparrow, Skellington, Burton, Tripper, Kirby, Nicholson, Black… there are quite a few to choose from.)
Despite the amount of Jacks in modern pop culture, I decided to set the WABAC machine to the Victorian era and talk a bit about Spring-heeled Jack. He's an urban legend that started in the 1830's in Great Britain and had reported sitings into the early 1900's.
"Spring-heeled Jack was described by people who claimed to have seen him as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy, clawed hands, and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire". One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a tight-fitting white garment like an oilskin. Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Others said he was tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman. Several reports mention that he could breathe out blue and white flames and that he wore sharp metallic claws at his fingertips. At least two people claimed that he was able to speak comprehensible English."
The above image is my favorite rendition of Spring-heeled Jack and I think it would make an awesome Halloween costume! Aside from the fact that he wasn't such a nice guy, he's sort of like a supernatural Victorian Batman.
The entity know as Jack reportedly accosted women, assaulted men, and made his escapes leaping over houses and walls 10' high. He became quite infamous and took up a place in the popular culture of the time. Some Punch and Judy puppet shows renamed their Devil to Spring-heeled Jack and he was also featured in several penny dreadful magazines.
Some of the Victorian police reports indicate they found foot prints in the mud that looked like his boots had some kind of device attached to their bottoms. Here's a more modern interpretation of Spring-heeled Jack.
Here's what other League members are Jacked into
Monster Cafe steals a fork from a very famous Jack
A couple of Jacks make Underscoopfire's list of 24 Unisurable Characters
GI Jigsaw sez the check's in the mail!
Check out the full rundown of posts on Cool & Collected
The Creature figures will be in good company with their bretheren on my Creature shelf. And not only did he send the groovy Creature figures I asked for, but he also tossed in a Creature Madballs-style sticker, some Garbage Pail Kids, Wacky Packages and a couple of Marx Disney figures. So, thank you Brian and on with the show...
In honor of one of TV's baddest bad-asses returning this week, the topic is:
You don't know Jack
(Bauer, Sparrow, Skellington, Burton, Tripper, Kirby, Nicholson, Black… there are quite a few to choose from.)
Despite the amount of Jacks in modern pop culture, I decided to set the WABAC machine to the Victorian era and talk a bit about Spring-heeled Jack. He's an urban legend that started in the 1830's in Great Britain and had reported sitings into the early 1900's.
"Spring-heeled Jack was described by people who claimed to have seen him as having a terrifying and frightful appearance, with diabolical physiognomy, clawed hands, and eyes that "resembled red balls of fire". One report claimed that, beneath a black cloak, he wore a helmet and a tight-fitting white garment like an oilskin. Many stories also mention a "Devil-like" aspect. Others said he was tall and thin, with the appearance of a gentleman. Several reports mention that he could breathe out blue and white flames and that he wore sharp metallic claws at his fingertips. At least two people claimed that he was able to speak comprehensible English."
The above image is my favorite rendition of Spring-heeled Jack and I think it would make an awesome Halloween costume! Aside from the fact that he wasn't such a nice guy, he's sort of like a supernatural Victorian Batman.
The entity know as Jack reportedly accosted women, assaulted men, and made his escapes leaping over houses and walls 10' high. He became quite infamous and took up a place in the popular culture of the time. Some Punch and Judy puppet shows renamed their Devil to Spring-heeled Jack and he was also featured in several penny dreadful magazines.
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| A penny dreadful advertisement |
One of my favourite bands from across the pond, Zombina and the Skeletones, wrote a song about ol' Jack that incorporates a lot his descriptive elements.
And he's got a Living Dead Doll coming out soon (bottom center)
Here's what other League members are Jacked into
Monster Cafe steals a fork from a very famous Jack
A couple of Jacks make Underscoopfire's list of 24 Unisurable Characters
GI Jigsaw sez the check's in the mail!
Check out the full rundown of posts on Cool & Collected
I love Springheel Jack. I read all about him in my Strange Stories Amazing Facts book by reader's digest.
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